THE BEST PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft and chewy, and they turn out perfect every time! Start with an amazing peanut butter cookie recipe and add chocolate chips to take these cookies to the next level!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies have become a staple around my house since I discovered this recipe. I know, I know. Everyone says that their cookie recipe is the best and that doesn’t always mean much, but I promise that this is the BEST peanut butter cookie recipe you have ever tried. I can say this because I have tried dozens and dozens of peanut butter cookie recipes and was never very excited about any of them. Until I tried this one. It seems like a lot of the peanut butter cookie recipes turn out really crumbly and dry. Not this one!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are not just my favorite Peanut Butter Cookies recipe, but my favorite cookie recipe. Period. It is really that good. Just try it! I always add chocolate chips to mine, but they are good without also…totally up to you! And call me strange, but I usually prefer mini chocolate chips to the regular sized ones. I think it’s because I actually prefer cookie dough to baked cookies, and I like just a hint of chocolate mixed with the cookie – I don’t like my cookie dough to be overshadowed by too much chocolate!

How do you make homemade peanut butter cookies?

Making homemade peanut butter cookies is easy! Here are a few tips to getting perfect cookies every time!

Make sure you use softened butter – DON’T melt it! One of the most common errors in cookie making is using butter that is either really cold and hard, or using butter that is too warm and melted. If you have time, just leave butter out on the counter for about 1-2 hours before making your cookies. If you are like me and don’t plan your cookie cravings that far in advance, just place the butter in your microwave and soften in 5 second intervals, being very careful to pull it out before it melts. I actually like to use the defrost setting on my microwave to soften butter- I don’t know the technical reasons behind it, but it seems to soften the butter more evenly and takes a little bit longer so I’m less likely to start melting it!

Most cookie recipes require that you mix the dry ingredients separately before adding the wet ingredients. This is an important step! And be sure not to over mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Just mix until combined and then stop!

Make sure to slightly press peanut butter cookies on the top with a fork before baking.

Why do peanut butter cookies always have fork marks on the top?

Peanut butter makes cookies more dense, so they need to be slightly flattened before baking so that they can cook more evenly. There is nothing worse than a cookie with burnt edges and a doughy middle! My kids like to help make the criss-cross pattern on the tops of the cookies, but if you don’t like the pattern, you can just use the back of a wooden spoon to slightly flatten the tops before placing the peanut butter cookies in the oven.

What are the ingredients in Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies?

1 cup peanut butter*

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

3 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

How do you make Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies?

With a hand mixer, cream together the peanut butter, butter, white sugar and brown sugar until blended. Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and mix together.

Stir in chocolate chips at this point if desired. Scoop tablespoonfuls of dough and roll into balls.

Place cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets(I used parchment paper since my cookies tend to burn on my darker pans). Press each ball once with a fork.

Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375. Don’t overcook! These cookies are much better soft and just barely cooked all the way through! Enjoy!

*Every time I have made these cookies I have used a regular creamy peanut butter (like Jif or a store-brand alternative). Several readers have commented that the cookies do not turn out as well when using a natural peanut butter.

Can you freeze peanut butter cookies?

Peanut butter cookies are easily frozen, either before or after baking them. I prefer to form the cookie dough balls and freeze those so that I can pull them and bake them whenever I need them. This way the cookies will be warm and fresh every time!

To freeze the cookie dough, place the balls on wax paper on a cookie sheet and freeze for about 30-45 minutes. Then you can place all of the frozen cookie dough balls in an airtight container or Ziplock freezer bag. When you are ready to bake them, just pull them out and place on a cookie sheet, let them thaw for about 10-15 minutes and then bake as usual.

You can also freeze the cookies once they have been baked. Just make sure they have cooled all they way to room temperature and then place them in an airtight container in the freezer. I like to wrap them in plastic wrap and then place them in a freezer bag or airtight container to make sure to prevent freezer burn. If stored properly, peanut butter cookies will stay good in the freezer for 2-3 months.

How do you keep peanut butter cookies soft and fresh?

If you don’t eat all the peanut butter cookies within the first day or two, you can keep them soft and fresh by placing half a slice of white bread with the cookies in an airtight container or Ziplock bag. Make sure the bag or container is sealed well. The cookies will absorb moisture from the bread and stay softer for a longer amount of time this way!

Comments

Oh my!! These are the BEST peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I have made thus far, and I have tried many. Thank you!! My husband loved them too, he said he will be requesting these cookies weekly!! I followed the recipe as is and they came out perfect! Thanks again!!

Just finished my 1st attempt. Cooked them for 9 min. let them sit in cookie pan for 2 minutes and they turned out great. Light brown bottoms are probably good enough to ensure the cookie sets up o-k. Needed to dip fork in water then shake water off fork to press on cookies without sticking. Made 5 doz. 2″ cookies using the 2t size cookie scoop. Great p-nut butter flavor and great chocolate chip flavor. I appreciate the recipe and will make them again. Thanks

Oh no! I’m so sorry they didn’t turn out! Can I ask what type of peanut butter you used? A couple years ago I added a note to the post that this recipe doesn’t have very good results with more “natural” types of peanut butter so maybe that was the problem? I hope you’ll try them again – this has been one of our favorite recipes and a favorite of many of our readers – they really are amazing!

I refuse to buy any non-natural peanut butter, so here are the ingredients in JIF and I’ll adjust the recipe and see what happens. Hoping to have the best of the best for my nephew in the Navy. JIF Ingredients: Made From Roasted Peanuts And Sugar, Contains 2% Or Less Of: Molasses, Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed And Soybean), Mono And Diglycerides, Salt.

They were good, but not good enough, so back to tinker some more. I added some molasses and coconut oil, but I think the chewiness comes from the hydrogenated (bad-for-you) fat in JIF. They need more peanut flavor, salt and sugar, too, when using natural organic peanut butter. Will try to replace some of the butter with more peanut butter and see how they come out. Thanks for the great place to start my experiments!

I used natural peanut butter and didn’t have any issues with crumbliness. I sprinkled a little sugar on before baking and then pressed with a fork. I also used mini choc chips instead because that’s what I had.

They held together well, perfect amount of sweetness and soft on the inside crisp on the outside. My entire family loved them including my toddler.

To make the cookies crispier, you can just bake them for an extra couple of minutes. I usually bake at least one cookie sheet of cookies a little longer because my husband prefers them a little bit crispier so he can dip them in milk!

I made these after reading the comments. I used regular peanut butter, salted butter and cooked them at 360 for 9 min. They were very good. I brought them to work and many people commented that they were really good cookies and not dry like most PB cookies. Not sure if they are the very best, but definitely a winner! If people felt their cookies were dry maybe lower the temp a little. I think my oven cooks hot.

I have made hundreds of cookies. This was the first time that I tried this recipe. The cookies weren’t crumbly but when I moved them onto the cooling rack I had to be VERY careful or they broke apart. The taste is great. However, I wonder why caused them to break so easily. Any input is welcomed. Thank you….

I absolutely LOVED these cookies!! I used organic freshly ground peanut butter and it turned out amazing. I will definitely make these again for friends and family! Thank you for such an spectacular recipe!

I just baked these!! Please help me, I can’t stop eating. Everyone at home loves them. They really are the best peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever tried. I followed the recipe and it worked perfectly. Thanks so much for sharing!!

Thank you for your recipe. It’s the first one that popped up for “thick soft peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.” I’m used to the Joy Of Cooking recipe with unsweetened peanut butter, so this is different for me. I could almost taste cinnamon like the pb cooked too long. Also using milk was a first — I used 2% milk and doubled the recipe. So I think it’s just a matter of personal preference. (Oh, I did put too many chocolate chips in my last batch so they were a little crumbly due to user error.)

I’m so sorry they didn’t work out April! What kind of peanut butter did you use for the cookies? I mentioned in the notes that some readers have not had as much success with using more natural peanut butters in this recipe so maybe that was the culprit?

Ok, I made these just as the recipe states… they are very dry. I’m wondering is the oven temperature to high for this cookie to be soft and chewy? If I ever make them again I will not bake them at 375°. This is the only cookie recipe I’ve ever used with that high of a temperature. The flavor is goodoing just dry.

Christy, I’m so sorry your cookies didn’t turn out very well! I have no idea why they would be dry. Mine are usually almost too wet if anything – sometimes I even add a tiny bit of extra flour! Maybe reduce the flour just a little bit? What type of peanut butter did you use?

Suzanne – I’ve never tried to make these sugar-free, so I’m not sure. Depending on the sugar substitute that you use, I think they would still probably work out ok. I do know that they don’t turn out as well when using a more natural peanut butter. Please let me know if you try it!

Agree I should’ve read the comments before making these. What a disappointment and waste of ingredients. Something is definitely off with them…they taste dry and not sweet enough which makes no sense to me, as I followed the recipe. They look better than they taste which is so unfortunate. Sorry, but I wouldn’t call this recipe “The Best” at all — even my husband who will eat any sweet said they didn’t taste right.

Donna- so sorry these didn’t turn out for you! What type of peanut butter did you use? Many readers have used more natural peanut butters and the results are not the same as using a traditional peanut butter, like Skippy or Jif.